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Documentary on Unsolved Murder to Air Locally

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A Hope College class's documentary on an unsolved area homicide in which even the
identity of the victim is a mystery will be featured on WGVU-TV 35 of Grand Rapids
and WGVK-TV 52 of Kalamazoo on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 11:30 p.m.

A Hope College class's documentary on an unsolved area homicide in which even the
identity of the victim is a mystery will be featured on WGVU-TV 35 of Grand Rapids
and WGVK-TV 52 of Kalamazoo on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 11:30 p.m.

The 52-minute program, "Jack in the Box," focuses on a murder in the spring of 2002,
when the badly burned body of a male victim was found in a footlocker near a blueberry
field between Holland and Grand Haven. More than three years later, the identity of
the victim remains unknown.

With the cooperation of Ottawa County Sheriff Gary Rosema and his office, the Hope
film makers had the chance to tour the site where the body was burned, look over all
the evidence in the case, and see the crime-scene photographs and video. They also
talked with the officers involved with the case and even the pathologist who conducted
the autopsy, Dr. Steven Cohle of Spectrum Health's Blodgett Campus.

"There was no question off limits in our pursuit of this story," said Dr. David Schock,
an associate professor of communication, who taught the fall 2004 class that created
the documentary. "There was no question that wasn't answered. In my career relating
stories I've never encountered this level of access; it's unprecedented. But the sheriff's
goal is very clear: to identify the victim. He was willing to take some risks to do
that. We are extremely grateful to have had this opportunity."

The resulting documentary chronicles almost every step of the investigation. It's
also extremely graphic, according to Schock.

"You don't want to watch this if you have a sensitive stomach. Certainly this is not
appropriate for young viewers, but it's likely not appropriate for some adult viewers,
too," said Schock, noting that the worst of it is the charred body of the victim.
"People see stuff like this every week on 'CSI' or 'Law and Order'... but this is
real."

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